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College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

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Todd R. Peterson

Todd PetersonTodd R. Peterson 

Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics
Agribusiness & Applied Economics
Washington Court House, OH

2021 Distinguished Senior Award Celebration Program (.pdf)

2021 Distinguished Senior Award Recipient Poster (.pdf)

Todd Peterson’s internship at Corteva Agriscience in Janesville, WI, has brought him the greatest feeling of success in his undergraduate career. During this internship, he worked at a research station, conducting experiments that tested new seed treatments, herbicides, and transgenic crops in the final stages of development. This experience taught him a number of skills in both crop science and research, which have proven to be invaluable, but more importantly, it taught him how to live and work in a place far from home. The knowledge and experience he gained from his five and a half months in Wisconsin provided him with a sense of self-accomplishment because he proved to himself that he was capable of not only surviving, but also thriving in the midst of challenges, like those of field research, and moving 800 miles away from home.

During Todd’s first semester, he joined the Crops and Soils Club and has stayed involved ever since. The club provided Todd with an opportunity to network with industry professionals and peers at the local, state, and national level, while a number of the people he met in the group have become some of his closest friends. He even considers trips to the American Society of Agronomy Annual Meetings with fellow members to be some of his fondest memories from his time at Ohio State. These excursions allowed him to test his knowledge of agronomy through the crops judging contest, and see the agriculture of the host state through tours. The organization has also granted him many opportunities to expand not just his education, but also his leadership skills, including the chance to serve as club president for a year. Overall, the Crops and Soils Club will hold a special place in Todd’s heart, thanks to the friendships and experiences he gained through it.

Todd recognized Dr. Laura Lindsey as his Ohio State mentor. He shared, “Laura has served as [a] mentor for me for a number of years, and has helped me to navigate the undergraduate-to-graduate transition, as well as provid[ed] academic and career guidance. She is also the major professor for my graduate program.”

Todd was thrilled to become a member of the Alpha Zeta Partners honorary. As part of their program, he spent six weeks in Brazil learning about Brazilian agriculture, politics, and culture. This trip taught him more about himself and Brazil than he ever could have imagined. Spending an extended period of time in the country, he was truly immersed in its national culture. Thanks to the lessons by the professors, and the tours, he now feels he has a much deeper understanding of how agriculture in Brazil has developed, where it is now, and how it will progress in the future.

After graduation, Todd plans to either work in the industry as an agronomy researcher or return home to his family’s farm.

Service, involvement, and accolades: Crops and Soils Club, president | Agribusiness Club, historian | Buckeye Brewing Club, co-founder | Ohio Farm Bureau | Ohio Corn and Wheat | Ohio Soybean Association

Todd Peterson - Press Release